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Person of interest named in 1975 disappearance of 2 Maryland sisters

Missing Sisters_Edge cropped.jpg

Images from an original handout from 1975 provided by the Montgomery County, Md., Police Department of two young sisters in Maryland, Sheila Lyon and Katherine Lyon, who never returned home from a shopping mall. Police in Maryland say a convicted sex offender currently imprisoned in Delaware has emerged as a person of interest in the disappearance of the two young sisters. (AP Photo/Montgomery County, Md., Police Department)

Authorities in Maryland have named a person of interest in the 1975 disappearance of two sisters from a shopping mall.

Montgomery County, Md. police named Lloyd Lee Welch Jr., a drifter and carnie, in a news conference this morning as the first significant person of interest in the 39-year-old case, ABC News reported.

Police say Welch paid close attention to Sheila Lyon, 12, and her 10-year-old sister Katherine before they disappeared from Wheaton Plaza on March 25, 1975.

Police are asking for information on Welch, also known as Michael or Mike, who was a ride operator for a traveling carnival company at the time.

Since 1997, Welch has had multiple convictions for sexual offenses against young girls. He remains incarcerated in Delaware.

According to the report, Welch had lived in “two dozen locations” from 1974-1997 including the Washington, D.C., area; North Miami Beach, Fla.; Los Angeles; Sioux City, Iowa; and multiple locations in South Carolina.

Anyone with information on Welch is asked to call 800-CALL-FBI or visit fbi.gov.

“We need everyone who may know something to come forward. Regardless of how insignificant it might seem, it might be enough to put the pieces of this puzzle together,” Steve Vogt, Special Agent in Charge of Maryland for the FBI, said during the conference, ABC News reported.

The Lyons family said the following in a statement today: “March 25th will mark 39 years since Kate and Sheila were taken from our family. Throughout these years, our hopes for a resolution of this mystery have been sustained by support and efforts of countless members of law enforcement, the news media, and the community. The fact that so many people still care about this case means a great deal to us. We are grateful for any information the public can provide to help bring this story to its conclusion and ask that the family’s privacy be respected during this time.”

The missing girls’ father, John Lyon, was once a prominent radio personality, is now a victims’ advocate. Their brother, Jay Lyon, who was 15 at the time, became a detective with Montgomery County police.